Copolymers of styrene and a betacyanoacrylate



-5. carbon atoms.

' Patented Mar. 2, 1948 COPOLYMERS OF STYRENE AND CYANOACRYLATE a BETA- David T. Mowry, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to Monsanto Chemical Company, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application July 10, 1943, Serial No. 494,243

7 Claims.

, 1- The present invention relates to the production of polymerization products. An object of the present invention is to provide copolymerization (or inter-polymerization) prodnets of vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons such as stywherein R and X are respectively H and H, H and 01, H and CH3 and CH3 and H, and Y represents H or a hydrocarbon radical of from 1 to Examples of such compounds are: beta-cyanoacrylic acid, alpha-chloro-betacyanoacrylic acid, alpha-methyl-beta-cyanoacrylic acid, beta-cyanocrotonic acid, methyl beta-cyanoacrylate, methyl alpha-chloro-betacyanoacrylate, methyl alpha-methyl-beta-cyanoacrylate, methyl beta-cyanocrotonate, ethyl betacyanoacrylate, ethyl alpha-chloro-beta-cyanoacrylate, ethyl alpha-methyl-beta-cyanoacrylate, ethyl betaecyanocrotonate, propyl beta-cyanoacrylate, propyl alpha-chloro-beta-cyanoacry late, propyl alpha-methyl-beta-cyanoacrylate, propyl beta-cyanocrotonate, butyl beta-cyanoacrylate, butyl alpha-chloro-beta-cyanoacrylate, butyl alpha-methyl-beta-cyanoacrylate, butyl beta-cyanocrctonate, amyl beta-cyanoacrylate, amyl alpha-chloro-beta-cyanoacrylate, amyl alpha-methyl-beta-cyanoacrylate and amyl betacyanocrotonate. The cisand trans-compounds are equally usable for the present products. When Y represents hydrocarbon radicals of from 1 to 5 carbonatoms, such radicals may be derived from the alcohols, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl and amyl in which case the alcohols propyl, butyl and amyl may comprise either the normal or the iso-alcohol.

The present copolymers may be produced either by mass, emulsion, solution or suspension polymerization methods. The copolymerization may be made to take place either in the absence of a catalyst or in the presence of such oxygen yielding compounds as benzoyl peroxide, ammonium persulfate, hydrogen peroxide, etc. The temperature employed is preferably maintained within the range of 60 C. to 80 0., although for certain purposes it may range from 50 C. to 125 2 C. Generally it is advantageous to employ a temperature above 50 C. but below 100 C. for the initial part of the polymerization and then to subject the polymer so formed to a short heat hardening treatment, wherein the temperature is raised to above 100 C., but below 125 C.

The preferred proportions employed for producing my resinous products may consist generally of from 1% to 50% of the nitrile, although the more valuable products are preparedutilizing from 10% to 50% by weight of the nitrile in the resin.

The present products in their clear and transparent form may be employed for the production of transparent objects such as Windshields and the like, or for transparent molded articles, ior insulating and dielectric materials, etc.

It is known that solid resinous products may be obtained by polymerizing monomeric styrene together with a variety of unsaturated organic compounds containing olefinic linkages and I am aware of the polymerization of mixtures of styrene and nitriles containing the vinyl or isopropenyl groups such as acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrlle. A vinyl or isopropenyl compound like acrylonitrile or methacrylonitrile may polymerize alone, i. e., in the absence of an additional unsaturated compound such as styrene. On the other hand, the unsaturated beta-cyano esters of the present invention do not undergo polymerization of auto-condensation under ordinary conditions.

Members of the above general formula having the structure:

, CN where Y is, an alkyl group of from 1 to 5 carbon atoms, are disclosed in my copending application- Serial No. 481,879, dated April 5, 1943, now abandoned, and dealing with the preparation of new beta-cyanocrotonic'acid esters. Compounds having the structure:

m izcclcoor ON I where Y is hydrogen or a methyl or. ethyl group are disclosed in a joint copending application with M. Renoll, Serial No. 481,58 i, dated April 2, 1948, now abandoned, and dealing withthe preparation of new unsaturated chlc'ronitriles.

The invention is further illustrated, but not limited, by the following examples:

Example 1 A mixture consisting of approximately parts tent of 3.2%.

. following results as determined on the Maquenne bar:

Decomposition Point, C.

Melting Soitenini! Point, 0.

Point, C.

Styrene-math I beta-cyanoacrylate copo ymer (7:3)- Styrene polymer Example 2 A mixture consisting of 90 parts by weight of v styrene and parts by weight of ethyl alphachloro-beta-cyanoacrylate was copolymerized at a temperature of 80 C. for 8 days and then at a temperature oil 105 C. for 4 days. There was thus obtained a hard, substantially colorless resin having an alcohol-soluble content of 2.3% and a softening point of 115 C. When styrene, alone, is polymerized under the same conditions, the softening point of the polystyrene obtained is 110 C.

Example 3 A mixture consisting of 90% by weight of styrene and 10% by weight of trans-ethyl betacyanocrotonate was copolymerized in the presence v of 0.1% benzoyl peroxide at a temperature of 80 C. for 10 days and a temperature of 110 C. for 2 days. 'There was thus obtained a hard, practically colorless resin having an alcoholsoluble content of 1.9%. Strips cut from the resin had a flexural strength of 10,300 lbs/sq. in. Comparison of the thermal characteristics of the 4 for polystyrene prepared under the same conditions. Another copolymer consisting of parts by weight of styrene and 30 parts by .weight of methyl beta-cyanoacrylate polymerized under similar conditions had the following thermal properties: i

Decompo- Boiienin Mlt Point, roific ii. 122":

Polystyrene..- '210 Copoiymer 150 247 The above values for softening, melting and decomposition points were determined on the Maquenne bar. The values for heat distortion points were determined according to the procedure described in the American Society for Testing Materials, Specification D648-41T and found on page 1066 of the American Society for Testing Materials, Book of Standards for 1942, except that the dimensions or the test bar employed were 0.2" x 0.5" and that a span of 1.5" was used.

Example 5 A mixture consisting of 92.5 parts by weight oi styrene and 7.5 parts by weight of methyl betacyanoacrylate was copolymerized in the absence of a catalyst for 45 hours at a temperature of 67 C. At the end of this time the viscous reaction mass was poured into ethanol which is a solvent for the monomer and a non-solvent for the polymer. The precipitated polymer had a nitrogen content of 3.28%. which value indicates a methyl beta-cyanoacrylate content 01' 26%. It was soluble in benzene and dioxane, insoluble in ethanol, and had a melting point oi 230 C., a softening point of 142C. and a decomposition point of 217 0., as determined on the Maquenne bar. Clear, colorless molded test specimens prepared therefrom showed the following mechanical strength, as compared to polystyrene prepared under substantially the same polymerizing conditions:

A mixture consisting of 60 parts by weight of styrene and 40 parts by weight of methyl betacyanoacrylate was copolymerized in the absence of a catalyst for 16 days at a temperature of 67 C." and then for 9 days at a temperature of 105 C. The product was a hard, water-white, transparent resin having an alcohol-soluble con- The heat distortion point of the copolymer was 100 C. as compared with 75 C.

present. copolymer with a polystyrene prepared under identical polymerizing conditions gave the sFtiexuiiigl rensi 5323;

reng reng. following results. lbilsq'li lbsJsqJn' a r bn r Decompo- Melting Copoiymer 13, 200 7, 700 12. 0 Pointfi g: c. Polystyrene 11,000 6,500 -0 s m k gg v betwyanwomnatfl 200 m 55 The above values vfor flexural strength were rfii i isj::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 190 do determined as described in Example 3. The

above values for tensile strength were determined by employing a model J-2 Scott tester and a test bar of the polymer measuring 0.08" x 0.5" x 2". Evaluations of the impact strengths were made by employing a modification of the cantilever beam (Izod) impact machine described in the American Society for Testing Materials, Specification D256-41'I and found on pages 339 and 342 of the American Society for Testing Materials, Book of Standards, 1941 supplement, volume III.

Instead of the styrene mentioned in the above examples, divinylbenzene, vinylnaphthalenes, such as alpha-vinylnaphthalene, vinylmethylnaphthalenes, and nuclear substituted styrenes such as the halogenated or alkylated ortho-, metaor para-substituted styrenes, etc.', may be employed with good result. The invention is also suitable for the production of ternary copolymers comprising styrenes, the present unsaturated esternitriles and another polymerizable compound, for

example, an ester of acrylic or methacrylic acid, vinyl esters, dioleflns such as butadiene, etc., the presence of said unsaturated ester-nitriles in the polymerizingmixtures having the efiect of improving the thermal characteristics of the resulting resinous products.

What I claim is: I 1. The process for producing resinous products comprising polymerizing a mixture containing styrene together with from 1% to 50% by weight of said mixture of a compound having the general structure:

n.c=cx.coor

where R and)! together are selected from the group consisting of: H and H, H and Cl, H and CH3 and CH: and H, and Y is a member of the class consisting of H and saturated hydrocarbon radicals of from 1 to 5 carbon atoms.

2. The process for producing a resinous product comprising polymerizing a mixture of styrene and methyl-beta-cyanoacryiate said methyl-betacyanoacryiate consisting of from 1% to 50% by weight of said mixture.

3. The process for producing a resinous product comprising polymerizing a mixture containing styrene and ethyl alpha-chloro-beta-cyanoacrylate said ethyl alpha-chloro-beta cyanoacrylate consisting of from 1% to by weight of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hanford Mar. 19, 1946 Number 

